How to Effectively Manage your Time

Time management skills aid a person in every aspect of his life. These form the basis for a strong willed and efficient individual. From part-time jobs to examinations, from searching for a good job to daily house chores, time management is imperative to success, and successful completion of goals. Once we regulate our daily life activities and manner the way they maximize productivity, we will be free from time related stress.

To Do List

One of the most common and effective way to manage time is to keep a to-do list. When you jot down whatever task you have it has multiple advantages. Firstly, it nearly eliminates the risk of forgetting whatever work you have. It is hard for any individual to mentally remember everything significant every day. But once you have something in front of your eyes in written form, then we you easily forget it. It also helps you prioritizing our work. You can easily number your tasks in order of length and ease of accomplishment. Because of this you won’t be stuck with a heavy task in the beginning that will waste your time. You will finish those jobs that are easy or that suit you so as to save time. Plus, you will always have a record of whatever you’ve worked on as and it will drastically reduce procrastination levels when you see un-finished tasks In front of you, rather than in the forgetful corners of our minds.

Keep Track of Your Progress

One of the advantages of keeping a to-do list is that you’ll know exactly how much you have accomplished and how much is left. Whenever you are done with a task just put a tick or a cross in front of it and move on to the next task. It is a rather simple action that easily alleviates and eliminates stress.

Re-Evaluate Your List

One of the key factors to good time management is a good and continuous relationship with your to-do list. Always have one eye on the list, be vigilant, and keep marking tasks that you’re done with or you might have to re-prioritize a difficult task, one which you previously thought was easy. This will also ensure that you are putting new tasks on the list as soon as you get them.

Have a Back Up Plan

When working on a task, it is always advisable to have a back-up plan. Suppose something goes astray or does not go according to plan. Something that is out of our hands. In such a case, if you don’t have a contingency plan, you’ll be forced to go back to square one. And that can be demoralizing, frustrating and stressful. Hence, in order to avoid all of this it is extremely important to be in possession of a backup plan. For example, if a high school student doesn’t have the grades or finances to go to college, he can plan well and have other plans like computer courses etc.

Procrastination is your Enemy

Tomorrow never come. We have heard this a million times, and ignored it the same amount of times. Wasting time on over-planning or over-thinking leads to zero productivity. You are more likely to just waste your time over-thinking and then feeling too tired or lazy to do your work. This can lead to harmfully negative results. Procrastination eventually becomes a strong habit, one that can cause you to miss important deadlines that can badly damage your future prospects. Battle with the lazy monster inside of you, take quick decisions and be active and be full of vitality.

Stay Motivated

Success does not come immediately. It falls to those who persevere and stay committed those who battle frustrations and stay positive. Initially the road might seem too rough and the obstacles insurmountable, frustration will be at its peak but if we stay motivated and strong-willed then eventually well taste success. Battling obstacle to achieve your goals will give you maximum satisfaction. Take breaks to deal with pressure. Have some time specifically cut-out for fun activities to take the work-related stress out of your mind.

Stay Organized

A good time organization helps you to spot those areas where you are wasting time. It helps you to work effectively and efficiently. Being on top of your task doesn’t hurt at all. A good way to do this is to keep a log and reviewing it every day to mark your progress and areas on which you can improve upon. Ask yourself question on whether you could have been more productive in a specific period and at what task were you most productive and why.

An Orderly Workplace

Make sure your workspace stays neat and tidy and that you are not caught up in a storm of papers when you are searching for something you need to find. If you have difficulty in finding something that is essential to your job, you might lean towards procrastination, and we have established that that is harmful.

Breaking down Tasks

The best thing to do when dealing with large and difficult problem is to break it up and deal with it in pieces. This is not only easy but also time saving. Biting on more than you can chew is never advantageous and serves only to hinder your progress. Therefore, divide your problem into small, easy tasks and then tackle them head on.

Eat and Relax

Don’t neglect your mealtimes when hungry, if you feel that you are getting hungry at small intervals while working and that is hampering your progress then fix yourself some snacks to take care of that.

Peak Productivity Time

Try to find out when you work best. This will make sure that you are most productive when you work. For example some people work better early in the morning while others have a tendency to work better late at night. Learning to recognize what suits you best is crucial to good time management.

Ask For Help

Sometimes the workload might be too much and time too little. In cases like these do not dive headfirst into your work. You might get stuck with too much to do in a possible amount of time. You don’t have to face the music alone! Ask for help. You have your friends and your family members and there’s no need to be embarrassed to ask for help. Getting stuck with a near impossible task in a given amount of time can be demoralizing; therefore it is best to avoid this.

Use Technology

Technology is your ideal ally. Keeping a to-do list on a pad might be hard for some but keeping one in your smart phone is easy, reliable and effective. Most of us can’t survive without a cell phone today, and in this case it will work to our advantage. Do all your research online but avoid plagiarism. Plus there are millions of apps that will help you manage time effectively as well as keep a log of your working time and tracking how much work you have accomplished.

Have Some Fun

While dealing with a large and difficult task at hand or a lot of small tasks you will at some point realize that your brain needs a break and that you are tired. Always leave time to relax or have fun. Watch a movie or an episode of your favorite sitcom, go out with friends for a little while or spend some quality time with your family. All of these will serve as mind and body relaxants.

Proper Sleep

Neglecting your sleep is like reducing your efficiency and effectiveness. In short, it will be suicidal to your cause. You will be tired, groggy and won’t be able to think clearly. However, if you have a good night’s sleep, or a proper nap (if you work late at night), you will remain fresh, enthusiastic and energetic, ready to tackle your work with zeal and fervor.

Choose Wisely

Always choose tasks that you are sure that you can accomplish. Do not take a job that’s outside of your ken. You will waste a lot of time plus the end result will not be first-class. You will eventually disappoint your clients and yourself. Therefore choose projects that you are sure you can accomplish and are within your working sphere.

Set Incentives

Set milestones and when you achieve them, reward yourself with stress reducing breaks or with something fun. When you will have something to work for, a target, you will eventually work faster and try to achieve that bonus. Hence, coffee breaks, listening to music or just taking a nap after achieving a milestone will seem rewarding and invigorating. You will find yourself propelled to that incentive.